Improve Application for Blair, Peddie, St. Marks, Asheville, Kent, etc.

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

<p>Ok, so here's a list of schools I'm applying to:
-BLAIR
-PEDDIE
-ST. MARKS
-ASHEVILLE
-ST. ANDREWS
-KENT
-NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON
-HILL
-TILTON
-PROCTOR
-MILLBROOK
-WESTTOWN
-WESTMINSTER
-STEVENSON
-CATE
-LOOMIS CHAFFEE</p>

<p>Okay, so I did another 'CHANCE ME' about Blair, but I wanted a wider spectrum of opinions to see how I would fare in schools less competitively and more competitive. I also forgot to add some details, seeing as my info is now out of date with new activities I'm participating in. This isn't really a 'CHANCE ME' based thread, but more of a 'help-me-improve-my-application' sort of thing, with 'CHANCE ME' aspects.</p>

<p>(COPY & PASTED FROM BLAIR CHANCES)</p>

<p>I'm going to be an eighth grader in the upcoming year and I'm planning on applying to boarding school for high school. I was interested in Blair and decided to give this a shot. I'm far from a 'good' candidate so I decided to see what I can do to improve me application. </p>

<p>I had a mixture of B's and A's in the first two of three trimesters in seventh grade, but in the last trimester I got a C in Math (my only B's in the past trimesters), so I'm worried that will affect my application. I heard from on CC'er that if I get A's in eighth grade and explain my situation of getting C's (my lack of seriousness and motivation in that last trimester), it'll show my dedication to school work but I don't know about that. I was an A/B student in sixth grade and a straight A student in fifth. I was considered to skip a math grade in fifth grade (see the irony, haha) but declined. </p>

<p>I'm not sure if I really have a "hook", seeing as I don't play an instrument or do a sport, but I did two years of violin and a year of piano. I'm planning on taking photography classes in the summer and submitting a portfolio of my photos along with the needed application materials. Is that even allowed, and will this boost my chances. I'm also volunteering at my local cat shelter with my friend who recommended it to me because I love cats. </p>

<p>Here's some additional information about me: I live in California and attend a public school. I'm Asian American, my parents migrated to the US after high school. I'm applying for financial aid. Do you think I have a shot if I get good rec's from my teachers and bring in a solid essay, SSAT score, and grades? Thanks.</p>

<p>(END COPY & PASTE FROM BLAIR CHANCES)</p>

<p>Ok, so I'm going to continue piano, leaving me at about two years, which is not fairly long and considered a short range activity. I'm going swim team with a couple of my friends, spring tennis, and possibly the local basketball league. I'm going to be on Yearbook, and I've gotten some school awards for academics and perfect attendance (I know - lame).</p>

<p>GOLD AWARD (HONOR ROLL): 2
SILVER AWARD (3.5 - 3.7): 2
BRONZE AWARD (3.0 - 3.4): 1</p>

<p>And I've had perfect attendance throughout middle school. Feel free to put in some of your inputs on what I can do to improve my application, and you can out some letter grades (A being a good chance, F being a bad chance) next to my school list so I know how competitive they are. Any info on these schools would be great and I appreciate your help.</p>

2

<p>Hi, I commented on your other thread about Blair. I didn’t read this whole thread because in my opinion, you are applying to way too many schools. If I counted correctly, there are 16 schools on your list! I hope you really that you will probably have to write about 10 essays, tons of short answer questions, hopefully do thorough research on each of these schools, and probably go for an interview at each of your 16 schools. The applications alone will be hard, but how are you going to have enough time to go on 16 interviews? Especially considering you are in California. If you cut your list in half, you will be able to focus more on each school and create a much better, more personalized application for each school. You will know more about each school on the interview, and you will just have a lot less stress. Thats just my opinion though. If I applied to 16 schools I bet a lot of my applications would be sloppy, grades may go down, SSAT scores may go down, etc. In my opinion, CUT</p>

3

<p>I’m not applying to all of them - I accidentally rephrased it. I just want to see what I can do to improve and see if I’m a good fit for my school choices. Then I’ll make the cuts so I don’t apply to some random school where I have no chance of going to.</p>

4

<p>Think hard about what your extra-curricular contributions will be at BS. Emphasize these and your past efforts as a core part of your application. There are plenty of kids with good grades and test scores, so make sure the AOs can look at your application and clearly understand how you will contribute to the life of the school. That said, you have a good prospect list. I’d encourage you to interview as early as possible and drop schools from the list after interviews to get down to the list that best fits you. Taking the October SSAT is also a good idea so you know how you stand prior to deciding which applications to complete.</p>